Organic chemicals are typically derived from building blocks that are obtained from natural gas, petroleum, and coal. Approximately 13 percent of the crude oil used in the United States currently goes into the production of nonfuel chemicals. Because fossil resources are limited, there is a need to develop useful chemicals from renewable resources. Renewable resources that have been used to produce chemicals include plant oils, polysaccharides, sugars, and wood.
Engineering thermoplastics (such as Nylon 6,6) are widely used to prepare parts that may require the mechanical strength and physical and chemical stability that may be provided by the thermoplastic material. Engineering thermoplastics are commonly fabricated into the desired parts using melt processing methods such as injection molding. Oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids can be used to produce long-chain aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and diamines useful for the production of polyamides. Polyamides produced from plant oil-derived fatty acids have found utility in applications such as adhesives, inks, and coatings.
However, there is a continuing, unmet need for engineering thermoplastics that can be processed faster and/or under milder conditions in melt processing methods such as injection molding, and particularly for such engineering thermoplastics that are produced at least partially from renewable resources.